GIVE US BACK THE ORIGINAL 'SRI SRI RAMAKRISHNA KATHAMRITA'

GIVE US BACK THE ORIGINAL 'SRI SRI RAMAKRISHNA KATHAMRITA'

Ramakrishna Mission should publish 'Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita' exactly in the manner in which Sri Mahendranath Gupta [M] had published it, not in the chronological order they have followed but in the one the chronicler had ordered it. The reason is that M had a particular order of concentrated thinking that was involved in his presentation and this has been seriously disrupted in the altered edition of the Ramakrishna Mission. The concentration of the perceptive reader is disrupted badly by the arbitrary introduction of the chronological narrative. This is possible to notice only if one is well-versed in the original rendition of the text as M had visualised and chronicled. Those who are fresh readers and have begun with the chronological order set up by the Ramakrishna Mission will not be able to notice this serious lapse and will only derive partial benefit from reading the text as opposed to the fullest concentrated benefit they would have derived from the original version. This lacuna must be and can be addressed by publishing simultaneously from now on both the editions. However, if for commercial reasons or reasons of expediency of publication, one of these has to be chosen, it must be the original one in which M had set the narrative. That obviously had Sri Ramakrishna's sanction and must for all time hold as inviolable. This sort of editorial shortsightedness in altering the fundamental structure of such a seminal scriptural text is regrettable and needs immediate redress. The dramatic part of M's original structuring of the narrative was better as it was more fast-paced on account of its selective narration of events while leaving out certain others for another volume. This dramatic effect was much appreciated by Swamiji, although, it must be admitted that Swamiji had spoken about it in regard to the leaflets as they appeared in English and later formed a part of 'The Condensed Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna'. M chose to maintain this drama in terms of selective narration of events in his Bengali edition rather than a date-wise chronological narration. M's narrative structure was such that the events flow into each other seamlessly and there is no jarring effect felt in terms of a crowd of characters suddenly appearing in the very next scene, thereby upsetting the serenity of an atmosphere carefully built with skilled narration in the earlier scene, as has happened in the chronological ordering of the narrative by the Ramakrishna Mission. This is a serious literary lapse and ought to be taken cognisance of by the present editors of the Kathamrita. Ideally, both versions -- M's and the Mission's -- ought to be simultaneously published. This will allow researchers a better facility for study of the material content of the Kathamrita as it will allow lay readers to study it in any manner they deem it best for them. Another point comes to mind. The original narrative of M, being not ordered chronologically except in each volume, makes for a cyclical storytelling in every volume which gives Kathamrita a sense of being sort of abiding in eternity, that is, not being dated in time. This has the apparent effect of beating time which gives Kathamrita its timelessness so far as the reader's perception goes. This effect is lost entirely in the chronological ordering of the entire text in the Ramakrishna Mission's edition and goes contrary to the original intent of the chronicler. The repeated return in each volume of M's original to 1882 and ending in 1886/1887 makes for an unending series which to the reader renders Ramakrishna immortal despite his cancerous physical end. The disease is beaten thus and the Master appears before us resurrected each time at the beginning of every volume. The Mission's edition compromises here so badly, making the Master mortal to the reader. The literary effect intended by M at the Master's immortality, despite disease and death, is entirely lost. These are lapses that need serious pondering by the editorial board of the Ramakrishna Mission.

Written by Sugata Bose